Quan Yixue, Lo Chi Yhun, Wolff Lee, Wang Jinyu, Olsen Kirk N, Thompson William Forde
School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Department of Linguistics, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Department of Psychology, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto, ON, Canada; Australian Institute of Health Innovation, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2025 Jul;134:105848. doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2025.105848. Epub 2025 Apr 12.
Aerobic exercise improves cognitive functions in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), while dance, combining music and synchronized movement, offers additional cognitive benefits. Despite music's potential role in enhancing cognitive outcomes, most research on aerobic exercise has not considered the impact of accompanying music. This review compared the effectiveness of aerobic exercise with music, aerobic exercise without music, and dance on cognitive function in adults with MCI. A total of 38 papers from 25 randomized controlled trials (N = 2048) were synthesized. The multilevel meta-analyses showed that compared to the control group, global cognition was improved by aerobic exercise with music (g = 1.2 [0.47, 1.94]), aerobic exercise without music (g = 0.48 [0.18, 0.79]), and dance (g = 0.55 [0.13, 0.96]). Dance also enhanced short-term memory (g = 0.41 [0.24, 0.59]), learning efficiency (g = 0.39 [0.14, 0.65]), and retrieval fluency (g = 0.7 [0.19, 1.22]). Bayesian network meta-analyses indicated that aerobic exercise with music had the highest probability of being the most effective for improving global cognition, executive function, and processing speed. Dance was likely to be the most beneficial for enhancing short-term memory, learning efficiency, and retrieval fluency. This study supports that incorporating music in exercise amplifies the cognitive benefits beyond exercise alone for individuals with MCI. The "Music Exercise Synergy Model" is proposed to explain the cognitive benefits of combining music with exercise. Dance strategically uses music for coordination, offering psychological, social, cognitive, and neurobiological benefits and contributing to the observed enhancements in memory functions.
有氧运动可改善轻度认知障碍（MCI）老年人的认知功能，而将音乐与同步动作相结合的舞蹈则能带来额外的认知益处。尽管音乐在提高认知结果方面具有潜在作用，但大多数关于有氧运动的研究并未考虑伴随音乐的影响。本综述比较了有音乐的有氧运动、无音乐的有氧运动以及舞蹈对MCI成年人认知功能的有效性。共综合了来自25项随机对照试验（N = 2048）的38篇论文。多层次荟萃分析表明，与对照组相比，有音乐的有氧运动（g = 1.2 [0.47, 1.94]）、无音乐的有氧运动（g = 0.48 [0.18, 0.79]）和舞蹈（g = 0.55 [0.13, 0.96]）均能改善整体认知。舞蹈还能增强短期记忆（g = 0.41 [0.24, 0.59]）、学习效率（g = 0.39 [0.14, 0.65]）和检索流畅性（g = 0.7 [0.19, 1.22]）。贝叶斯网络荟萃分析表明，有音乐的有氧运动在改善整体认知、执行功能和处理速度方面最有效的可能性最高。舞蹈可能对增强短期记忆、学习效率和检索流畅性最有益。本研究支持在运动中融入音乐能为MCI个体带来超越单纯运动的认知益处。提出了“音乐运动协同模型”来解释音乐与运动相结合的认知益处。舞蹈巧妙地利用音乐进行协调，带来心理、社会、认知和神经生物学益处，并有助于观察到的记忆功能增强。
